This is the scene of the collision between a FedEx truck and a bus carrying high school students to Humboldt State University on the I-5, as seen Friday, April 11, 2014, in Orland, Calif. Ten died in the wreck. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/Los Angeles Daily News)

RED BLUFF, CALIF.>> The FedEx truck that slammed into a tour bus full of students in Orland last week, resulting in 10 deaths, was possibly on fire before the crash and did not brake as it hurtled across a 58-foot median into oncoming traffic, investigators said late Saturday.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Mark Rosekind said investigators found no tire marks or any indication the FedEx rig used its brakes as it crossed from the southbound side of the 5 Freeway to the northbound side Thursday around 5:40 p.m.

The truck first struck a Nissan Altima that had just passed the tour bus and was in the same lane ahead of it, before it smashed into the touring coach, he said. Tire marks indicate the tour bus braked for 145 feet as the tractor trailer bore down on its path.

Investigators recovered a black-box recording device from the student tour bus, but could not obtain one from the FedEx truck because it was so heavily damaged, Rosekind added.

The bus, a 2014 model that had only been in service for about a month, was equipped with an electronic control module that records trip data, but it is up to the vehicle’s owner/operator to decide how much information it records, he said. Investigators will not know how much they have until it is examined at an NTSB lab in Washington, D.C. He added that the bus was equipped with three-point restraint seat belts.

Rosekind also confirmed reports that witnesses saw the FedEx truck on fire before it crossed the median and slammed into the Altima in the left rear side behind the driver and then the tour bus, resulting in the tragedy.

“The driver (of the Altima) did report seeing flames that were coming out from the truck tractor cab prior to the crash as it was coming across the median,” Rosekind said at a press conference in Red Bluff, about 30 miles from the crash site.

Even without an intact recorder from the FedEx truck, Rosekind said investigators will be able to use other means to determine critical information — for example, by removing the transmission and seeing what gear it was in to estimate speed at the time of the crash.

Investigators still don’t know why the FedEx truck crossed the median or why it apparently caught fire before the crash. They said their investigation could take three months or longer.

A FedEx spokeswoman declined to comment other than saying the company was aware of the NTSB’s initial findings.

“We’ve heard those reports, but we are not going to speculate on those at this time,” Bonnie Kourvelas said by phone Saturday evening. “We are cooperating with the NTSB and we’ll let them do their investigation.”

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The identity of the FedEx truck driver is the only one of the 10 that has not been reported publicly, and the company has declined to release his name.

The tour bus was carrying underprivileged high school students from Southern California to a spring preview event at Humboldt State University.

Five students, three chaperons and both drivers died as a result of the fiery collision. Nine were killed at the scene and one died later at an area hospital.

Although the Glenn County coroner-sheriff has only officially identified one victim due to the charred condition of the other bodies, families have come forward in recent days to identify loved ones on the list of missing, and presumed dead.

The Coroner’s Office has requested dental records to confirm the other identities. The Coroner’s Office said four autopsies were completed Friday and it was working to complete the remaining five Saturday.

Nine victims identified

The victims have been identified as Marisa Serrato, 17, of Norte Vista High School in Riverside; Adrian Castro, 18, of El Monte High School; Ismael Jimenez, 18, of Animo Charter in Inglewood; Denise Gomez, 18, also of Animo Charter; Jennifer Bonilla, of Dorsey High School in Crenshaw; Arthur Arzola, 26, a Los Angeles-based admissions counselor for Humboldt State University; Michael Myvett, 29, a Humboldt alumnus chaperoning his trip; Myvett’s fiancee, Mattison Haywood, 25, an artist who was studying to be a doctor.

On Saturday, KABC-TV (Channel 7) reported family members said the bus driver was a woman named Tala Salanoa, but officials did not confirm the identification.

Rosekind said blood samples were obtained from both drivers. Analysts will be looking for the presence of drugs, alcohol and medication, as well as if either inhaled smoke prior to impact. That could help confirm the presence of fire in the FedEx truck before the crash.

In addition to brake marks, there were other indications the driver of the bus moved to the right, possibly in an attempt to avoid the truck, but Rosekind stopped short of drawing any conclusions.

“There was clearly reaction on the part of the bus driver. We can differentiate that from the truck driver, where we see no marks. I’m not going to go further than that, but factually that’s pretty critical information.”

Rosekind said the driver of the Altima was the only one to report the flames prior to the collision, and has asked any other witnesses who may have seen the truck prior to the crash or the impact itself to come forward.

“The initial inspection of the mechanical conditions of the vehicles has already started, it’s extremely difficult due to the fire damage,” he said.

Despite the fact the black box was recovered from the bus, he said it’s unclear how much information it contains.

Earlier Saturday, memorials and tributes were held for victims of the crash.

At El Monte High School, a memorial was established with candles and a large banner in tribute to Adrian Castro, an 18-year-old student and football player who was killed in the crash. Friends left symbolic memorabilia that included Monster energy drinks, beer, a baseball glove and other items.

Bryana Ruiz, 17, an El Monte junior described Castro as a well-liked friend.

“Everyone loved him, everyone knew who he was,” she said. “Not because he was popular, but for what he was doing and what he wanted to accomplish in life. We all just loved him and we’re all going to miss him a lot.”

In Inglewood, a tribute was held at a youth softball game for Jimenez and Gomez. Both were initially just considered missing after the crash, but their families received news late Friday that they had died.

Another vigil was held later that evening at the home of one of their friends.

“I’m trying to stay strong,” Jimenez’s older sister Evelin , 20, said in a telephone interview, choking up. “He was a very happy boy. He made friends so easily. He was a joker — he made jokes about everything. He loved to sleep.”

Jimenez was the middle child between his older sister and a 7-year-old younger brother. Evelin shared a room with Ismael in their Inglewood home.

“We never had our own room,” Jimenez said. “It’s going to be hard to wake up and not see him there.”

Jimenez and Gomez were part of a larger circle of friends at Animo in Inglewood, and won Homecoming King and Queen during their freshman year in 2010, according to Frankie Martin, an Amino Charter senior and friend of both of the victims since middle school.

“We were all the best of friends,” Martin said. “It’s kind of heartbreaking, we know them for so long, and they were part of us. We’ve been through the worse.”

Staff Writers Adam Poulisse, Brian Day and Susan Abram contributed to this report.